The present invention relates to the field of medical equipment for patient handling, and more particularly to spine protective carriers for emergency patient transportation.
Emergency transportation of trauma victims is fraught with problems. There are often severe, life threatening injuries and transportation adds yet another degree of risk for the victim. The injured party may be carried to the ambulance on a wheeled gurney or rescue teams may use stretchers, backboards or Stokes baskets as carriers to move victims from the trauma. The terrain may be steep and treacherous, sometimes so bad that the victim must be dragged or hoisted out by a cable lift. If back and neck injuries are involved, the carrier must be equipped with a means to immobilize the victim to prevent further nerve damage. Typically, immobilization is achieved by the use of restraining straps that run across the victim""s body and are connected at the edges of the carrier. Since any failure could have dire consequences, such strapping devices must be designed and made to high standards of strength and durability.
Various strap arrangements have been offered for use with carriers, some using cam-lock slide connectors, and some using VELCRO hook and loop fasteners or other slack take-up devices. These devices are in the form of assemblies of straps and connectors that can be procured and fastened to any carrier. State-of-the-art strap restraint systems require all of the lateral straps to be disconnected to receive a body onto the carrier. Then each lateral strap must be reconnected separately. Inasmuch as this is done under adverse conditions and the straps must be connected and tightened quickly, the number of straps is kept to the minimum required for effective immobilization. In general, these devices serve the intended purpose of immobilizing an injured person for transit.
The greatest need for advancement in this art is always to reduce the time and effort needed for stowage, deployment and application. A device comprising a plurality of straps, loose at one end, is likely to become tangled and difficult to apply. This is especially true if the assembly becomes separated from the carrier. Burlage et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,961 for instance, teaches color-coding the straps as an aide to right-side-up orientation.
A first object of the present inventions is therefore, to provide a body immobilizing strap arrangement that can be operatively attached to existing carriers, without modification. A second object is to provide such a strap arrangement in a form that can be fitted to a patient""s body, without need for disconnecting and reconnecting individual strap members. A third object is to provide a sufficient selection of straps to fit a patient""s body, regardless of size, without compromised immobilization. A fourth object is to provide a strap arrangement that can be used quickly and reliably, regardless of ambient conditions. Yet another object is that the strapping arrangement be resistant to disarray when stowed or being prepared for use.
The present inventions pertain to a body immobilizing harness used for emergency trauma victim transportation on a carrier. These inventions relate to or employ some steps and apparatus well known in the emergency medical equipment arts and therefore, not the subject of detailed discussion herein. These harness assemblies are used in circumstances when quick action may prevent death or permanent injury. For that reason, we find state-of-the-art immobilizing harnesses design is focused on minimizing the number of straps and connections needed to hold a body in place. This also serves to minimize the strap-tangling problem, so the harness will be ready for use when the carrier is taken out for use.
In the present inventions, each side of a longitudinal zipper assembly is configured for detachable connection at the head end edges of a carrier. A plurality of adjustable length, transverse strap assemblies are provided, with one end permanently connected to either side of the longitudinal zipper and the opposite end configured for detachable connection to the corresponding edge of the carrier. These transverse strap assemblies may be perpendicular to the longitudinal zipper or at a diagonal angle. A typical industrial class zipper assembly has a separating strength of 200 pounds per linear inch. This level of strength is sufficient to allow direct connection of the straps to the zipper side members and the size of the interlocking elements is such as to resist damage. Even so, as a conservative design measure, the use of xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d ring connectors distributes strap tension forces over approximately 3xe2x80x3 of zipper length. xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d ring connections also mitigate any xe2x80x9cpeelingxe2x80x9d load concentrations. Quick releasable, cam locking slack take-up devices, well known in the art, are operatively included for tightening each transverse strap assembly on the victim""s body.
With the longitudinal zipper fully closed, the detachable connections of the body immobilizing harness are connected to the carrier as described above. The assembly is stowed, preferably with the transverse straps slack rather than tightened. To transport a victim, the zipper is opened, so that the straps can be laid to either side of the carrier. For smaller victims, the lowermost straps may be loosened enough that it is not even necessary to disengage the lower end connection of the zipper. After the victim is maneuvered onto the carrier, the zipper is closed to reconnect the transverse straps across the victim""s body for tightening as appropriate. Thus, there is never more than the one zipper connection to be made at the emergency site. In any event, the pin and socket elements of the starting connection for industrial class zippers are large and easily manipulated.
The inherently organized strap arrangement of the present inventions has the unobvious advantage of allowing the use of a greater number of transverse, lateral or diagonal straps, without tangling when stowed or risking lost time in making connections when time is critical and conditions are adverse.